


Survivor: Isla Nublar

by My_LittleCorner, SarynotSary



Series: NSFW Clawen [10]
Category: Jurassic World Trilogy (Movies)
Genre: A little smutty, Also some adventure, Clawen, F/M, No Dinosaurs, Nothing but Clawen on Isla Nublar following their instincts, Some Fluff, Some Humor, Some Jurassic World and Fallen Kingdom references, Spending 21 days with Owen on a deserted island? Sign me the fuck up, Very primal, clawen au, some sexy stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-10-23 23:10:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17692937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_LittleCorner/pseuds/My_LittleCorner, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarynotSary/pseuds/SarynotSary
Summary: [Clawen AU] Owen Grady is a professional Survivalist and TV Star who challenges viewers to spend 21 days with him in a deserted island — a tropical paradise known as Isla Nublar — with nothing but their instincts. The winner gets $100.000.Claire Dearing ends up being selected among hundreds of participants after her older sister, Karen, signed her up as a joke.Follows Owen and Claire’s journey for 21 days through the thick jungles of Isla Nublar where they have to learn to work together in order to survive, adjust to the wild, and live by following their instinct and primal senses.





	1. Prologue: Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> One day, my amazing editor-in-chief came up with the premise to this adventurous story. She sat down and wrote the timeline of their journey through those 21 days and sent it to me so I could write this story. 
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you guys like it! Happy reading!

“One day, you are going to need something from me, and I’ll be the only and last person who can help you... and you know what I’m going to tell you?” Claire was evidently annoyed, the two flames in her eyes giving her away, but if that was not enough...the way she swept her jacket against her bed would help convince you. 

She was changing from the perfectly pressed skirt business suit she had worn to work that day to a pair of combat pants, a tank top, and a light jacket. 

Karen was sitting on the bed, laughing at the outcome of a joke while she watched her sister kick her heels off and put a pair of Timberlands on. “What? What are you going to tell me?” She chuckled knowing the answer, but still asked.

“To go FUCK yourself, big sister.” Claire grunted, and snatching some stuff from her bed, and started pushing it into a backpack. “I’ll remind you of that time you enrolled me in a stupid show and let me go die in the middle of nowhere!” Claire scoffed.

“I’m sorry! I honest to god didn’t think they would pick you! But apparently you have everything they look for in a contestant. Plus, it will do you some good ...to loosen up.” Karen added, scrolling down the list of stuff they had asked her to take.

“If I catch yellow fever or chikungunya...it will be on you! YOU will have to explain mom and dad how you sent your baby sister to a deserted island with a stranger — may I add.”

Karen gasped. “That stranger happens to be none other than Owen Grady!” The blonde reminded her, “Nominated to be the sexiest man alive. He is the kind of man on the top of the list when asked ‘what would you bring with you to a deserted island’.” Karen smirked mischievously.

Claire scoffed, “He is not my type.” 

Karen snorted, “Owen Grady is every woman’s type. And he is SO your type!” She knew the kind of man Claire liked, and he was definitely her type. Claire gave her a death glare, Karen cleared her throat. “Anyways...did you pack your knife, flashlight, waterproof blanket, and some rope?” She read down the list. 

“Yep.” The redhead managed to fit it all in her backpack and zipped it closed. “And gallons of repellant and sunscreen! Which reminds me; what if I get skin cancer? That’s on you too!” 

“Seriously? You are spending three weeks on that island and you’re worried about mosquitoes and the sun?” Those two would be the last of Karen’s worries. 

“Well, I have _Hunkules_ to save the day for everything else, don’t I?” Claire rolled her eyes.

“I promise I won’t ask for a cent the moment you win this thing, okay?” Karen laughed. She knew her sister had it on her to win. “Come on, I’ll drive you to the airport.” She offered, running her arm around Claire’s shoulder.

There, Claire was met by a brunette in her mid-thirties, who introduced herself as being part of the show’s crew. After congratulating her on being picked, she explained the whole deal to Claire. Their private jet would land in Costa Rica, where they would meet no other than tv sensation and expert survivalist Owen Grady and take a helicopter to Isla Nublar: A tropical paradise, a jungle with all sorts of vegetation and fauna.

The journey would take off on the North side of the island and the challenge was to make it across the island in 21 days and the first contestant to endure the whole adventure would get $100.000. Many people had tried and failed so far — the best mark to this day had been a week out there in the jungle, but the producer was confident that Claire could be the one to make it: she had determination and ambition oozing from her skin, a very strong personality and aura.

The closest crew would be on a military ship a few miles off shore, in case of an emergency, and a helicopter would be waiting for them on that last day. The only things she’s allowed during the challenge were those she was asked to pack: once off the helicopter, it would be just their backpacks and instincts in order to survive.

Claire understood this and then was taught to use the small camera she’d be equipped with to record vlogs: this was very important for the producer, since whatever Owen and Claire recorded would be the only footage they would have of the journey and what would air on their show.

Claire rubbed a thick layer of sunscreen over her freckled skin and tied her jacket around her waist before she got out of the jet to walk over to the helipad. Even from inside the jet, she could already feel the heated weather of Costa Rica.

Owen rested his hand against his forehead, covering his deep hazel eyes from the sun as he watched his companion to this adventure walk over to him. He smiled, liking what he saw right away. She had a very confident composure which was a relief, he really was expecting someone who would cry if her nail broke. He could tell she didn’t have much contact with nature, but that was just something she’d be able to adapt to.

Claire also rested her hand over her eyes so she could have a better look at the man standing in front of her. He was in great shape and was wearing khaki pants, a t-shirt, and a jacket as well as a pair of combat boots. Claire was glad she seemed to have dressed properly for the occasion. 

“Owen Grady, expert survivalist and TV star.” A cheeky smile greeted Claire, his eyes captivated by her long red hair and those piercing green eyes.

Claire shook her head lightly. She hated it when Karen was right: Tarzan here was totally her type, cheeky attitude included.

“You are not impressed, huh?” He teased her, trying to make her loosen up a little bit, maybe steal a smile from her.

Claire adjusted her backpack and rolled her eyes. “No. Maybe once you fight a grizzly bear I will.” She offered, catching the smirk he offered. “I wouldn’t hold my breath, though.”

“Neither would I! Especially since there aren’t grizzly bears in the tropical rainforest.” Owen offered.

“Then I guess it’s not happening.” Claire assured him about impressing her.

They were hurried into the helicopter and sat on the same side. Claire set up her headset and tightly clicked the seat belt around her. This was something Owen noticed, and just casually observed her from the corner of his eyes. Once he was also buckled up and with his headset on, the helicopter started to go up.

Claire was taking deep breaths and resting her hand on her belly. She tried get distracted with something else and pulled a map of the island out: she wanted to spend the flight studying it so she could have an idea of where they were heading and not feel completely disoriented.

Once the helicopter gained speed, Claire instinctively held tight on Owen’s bicep with one hand and the handle with the other one.

“Scared of flying, huh?” He smirked, but let his hand rest over her curled one still around his bicep. He knew it was important for Claire to trust him, and he just wanted to reassure her.

The redhead gulped, and with a light blush she nodded her head, slowly calming down while they made eye contact. 

“So, I heard you have an evil sister.” Owen chuckled, noticing Claire was slowly easing up on the flight as she let go of his bicep.

“Yeah, Karen. She’s ten years older.” Claire shared with him. “She’s not evil per se, just has a horrible sense of humor.” She smiled.

Owen nodded and chuckled. “It’s pretty funny, actually.” He offered.

“Not to me.” She rubbed her arm as she released a sigh. “What about you? Do you have any siblings?” She frowned, small talk wasn’t really her thing but she was going to spend the next three weeks with no one else around but him, so she figured she should start getting comfortable with that.

“Nope. I’m an only child.” He nodded before watching her seem a little surprise by that. “You thought I wasn’t.” He found it interesting; she was already trying to read him. It said a lot about her.

“I... well...I mean, you are a survivalist. I figured that came from surviving a couple of older brothers.” She looked down to her hands. 

Owen chuckled, finding that observation amusing. “It didn’t, but I’m taking yours does.”

“I’m trying to survive the latest of her doings.” She pointed out, and the two of them laughed. “So how did the survivalist come to be?” Claire wondered, she was probably the only person on earth who wasn’t familiar with the show or its star.

“I guess I’m too primal and intuitive for an ordinary job at some office with my own cubicle and coffee mug.” He shrugged. 

“I see...” Claire nibbled on her lower lip and slowly shied away once he fixed his eyes on hers.

“What about you?” He wondered. 

“I’m okay with the whole cubicle and coffee mug kind of job.” She laughed. “As long as the a/c is not too strong.” She joked.

“There’s no a/c where we are going, so it’s all good.” He nodded.

Once they both were on the green grass of Isla Nublar, the helicopter took off. It was officially just the two of them in the wild. Claire gulped and tried to remember the map she hadn’t really had time to study that well after letting Owen distract her with their conversation. 

“So, are you ready?” He took his jacket off and knotted it around his waist.

“No.” Claire blurted out before she started to look around. There was a huge volcano behind then. “That looks like it had something to do with dinosaurs going extinct.” She said, a little alarmed.

“Mount Sibo? Nah. It’s inactive. You could build an entire natural park here and it’d be fine. Don’t worry about it.” Owen assured her.

Green eyes looked up, taking the size of it and the mountains around, before she nodded.

“Are you ready?” He asked again. 

“Yes.” Claire took a deep breath, there was no turning back. She was already there so there was just one thing left to do and that was walk across that stupid island. “Let’s win this thing.” She didn’t lose time before starting to walk.

“We are heading that way...” Owen pointed out. He wanted to follow straight down, stay in the middle of the island where they would be able to find more resources and find better shelter. 

Claire was starting to walk west. “The ocean is that way. We can follow it down and it would be harder to get lost.” She explained, positive she knew what she was talking about.

He shook his head, “Cute argument, but we don’t have time to waste and getting to the ocean it’s gonna take us a few days.” He explained, “We are heading south in a straight line.”

“Cute?” Claire gasped. “I think it’s a safe investment to spend some days heading west, we could spend more than that walking in circles…several times, which means we would waste less time finding shore than finding our way back.”

Owen sighed. He had never been challenged by any of the contestants like this before, but Claire had this confidence in herself: even if she had zero experience and she had probably never even gone camping in her life, she was still trying to tell him how to do his job.

It was this crossroad of emotions. It was annoying that she wanted to be the one in charge when they were in his territory, doing this for his show. But at the same time, it was sexy as hell that she wasn’t intimidated by him at all. 

Neither of them moved for a few seconds, waiting for the other one to follow. “You have to trust me if you want to make it to the end.” Owen smiled. “I like your intuition, even if it’s wrong.” He knew that last part was not necessary, but he had added it for his own benefit. That fierce redhead looked hot when provoked, and he couldn’t wait to push all her buttons — including the dirty way.

Claire sighed. “I’m not wrong.” She insisted.

“Yes, you are....” Owen smiled. “After, you.” He let her walk first through the way he had suggested and started walking behind her. 

Claire immediately got in girl scout mode, looking around and opening the path for them. Owen happily followed, loving the way those pants hugged her ass and how she wasn’t hesitant in leading the way. He let her believe she was their guide through the jungle, while quietly looking out for her and keeping her ahead so he could have his eyes on her.

It started to get dark, so he suggested they find their first spot to get some rest: the following day was going to be a long one. This was the first time, since the helicopter had dropped them on the island, that he was turning his camera on and started to document their current state.

With the camera recording, he introduced Claire standing next to him as very intense company. He teased her a little about her liking for nature but at the same time was genuine when complimenting her determination and orientation skills. “I think we make a great team so far.” He smiled and casually turned his camera around so it could record her shaking her head with a light smile and a playful eye roll.

Owen then explained how they would be looking for dry branches so they could build a fire. “Have you ever built one, Claire?” He asked her, the woman shaking her head while she bent down to pick up some branches and bring them over to the spot they had chosen for their fire. “No biggie, let’s change that.” 

He let the camera keep rolling while they started to build a tinder nest with their branches and dry lawn. “You are a fast learner.” He smiled at her, the camera not catching that but able to get the soft smile she was offering back. She looked away and kept working on letting the fire stay alive. 

“I told you, great team.” He instead before she stood up and went back to her backpack. Owen shut the camera off and helped her lie her water proof blanket on the ground, so they didn’t have to sleep directly on the ground. 

Claire was quickly irritated by the mosquitoes. She tried to shoo them away but they simply wouldn’t stop biting her. She tried to kill them, but they were just simply faster than her.

“They are like heat detectors, you will never catch them with your hands.” Owen shook his head. “You could use a cloth in both your hands, and then try again.” He suggested. 

“I don’t really have some around, you now…it wasn’t on the list.” She rolled her eyes, slowly applying some of the mosquito repellent she had brought from home.

“Take your top off.” He offered as a suggestion, wiggling his eyebrows obviously messing with her.

“Ugh.” Claire tried to pretend she was completely annoyed by his out of the line suggestion, but she couldn’t help blushing and slowly started laughing along with him.

He pulled out his waterproof blanket so she could cover herself with it in case she got cold. It was still about 22°C, but temperature could drop slightly after ten at night and get colder through dawn. 

Claire took her boots off and set them — perfectly aligned — by her side of the blanket. She lay down and shifted around, trying to get comfortable, keeping the second blanket close to her feet just in case – right now it was too hot for her to cover herself up. 

“Are you already going to bed?” Owen tilted his head. It was about eight pm. 

“Yeah. I’m the kind who needs to go to bed early or gets cranky.” She mumbled sarcastically. It wasn’t like there was anything they could do to entertain themselves.

“No, you are not!” He laughed. “Well for the cranky part, I believe you.” He teased before he lay by her side and rested his arms under his head, watching the clear sky and admiring the many stars twinkling above. There was not a single noise but the one of nature and that was his happy place.

Claire turned around, her back on him, and nibbling on her lower lip, she stayed awake for a while. The earliest she usually went to bed was 11PM and she was not sleepy at all, but this was a very uncomfortable condition for her. She didn’t know this man and he was turning and getting comfortable next to her, sharing a blanket. It was such an intimate act that people didn’t usually practice unless they were close and involved with each other.

Owen managed to get comfortable on is right side, facing her back. He bent his arms under his head and smiled to himself; even after spending all day under the sun, her hair still smelled great. 

It was a full-size blanket, so the space was limited. Owen adjusted, his knees brushing her thighs. The man was skilled when it came to catch the mosquito that kept bugging Claire and ended up with a small blood stain in his palm once he killed it.

The redhead shyly adjusted, her elbows brushing his chest, making her blush. Even with the temperature still warm, Claire casually pulled the blanket over her body, using it as a barrier between their bodies.

“Goodnight, Owen.” She offered with a smile in her lips, one he couldn’t see. Claire slowly closed her eyes, finding him fascinating and quietly impressed by his skills and resources. She was still hesitant about this, but there was something about him that made her feel safe.

“Goodnight, Claire.” 


	2. Days 2 & 3

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!” Owen greeted a groggy Claire.

“Ugh...what time is it?” She wondered, brushing her fingers down her hair. It felt like she had slept for 12 hours but at the same time she was restless and with a light headache. It had been the worst night sleep she’d had in her life. 

“Time for breakfast!” Owen didn’t follow any kind of clock but his internal one and natural light. The sun had just come out, which meant it was some time around 7AM. 

Claire nodded and slowly sat up. She tied her Timberlands on and let her eyes fall down on Owen noticing he was barefooted.

“Please tell me you won’t be losing your clothes little by little.” She watched him walk around without an issue. The soil was dry but all Claire could see were the little pebbles which she figured were uncomfortable to feel under your feet. 

“I can’t promise such thing!” He teased, “Besides, don’t act like you wouldn’t like to see me in a loincloth.” He added, going back to his cooking.

Claire rolled her eyes, her fingers still busy with her hair. She didn’t know what to do with it and it was driving her crazy.

She inched closer and stood next to Owen, who had a couple of eggs on a stone. “It smells great!” She smiled. She was starving, and that was making her ignore the fact that his cooking was happening in the least convenient of environments.

“Scrambled or fried?” Owen wondered while the two eggs were slowly cooking on their fire.

“Scrambled please.” Claire smiled and nibbled on her lower lip.

Owen used a small branch to prepare them as she had requested and slowly looked up, making eye contact with her.

Once they were done, Owen managed to carry the hot stone over to the side so they could share it and use it as a plate while sitting on their blankets.

“This is really nice...” She offered, blushing lightly. “To wake up to breakfast.”

“Don’t get used to it.” He offered a cheeky smirk. Claire tilted her head to the side: she didn’t know if he was being a jerk or honest. “It was just luck that I found a nest.” He explained. 

Her eyes saddened. “You mean you—we are eating.... awe...that’s sad.”

Owen chuckled and tapped her knee with his knuckles. She smiled faintly and nudged him playfully, pinching some of her scrambled eggs with her fingers and eating them.

“I’m only eating them because I’m hungry, okay.” Claire blushed hearing Owen laugh at how she was bringing the eggs to her mouth.

“Alright.” He nodded eating his as well.

“And...” Claire nibbled on her lips and blushed.

“And?”

“And because no one had ever woken me up with breakfast.” She admitted, her green eyes slowly falling on his. 

Owen smiled, glad he unintentionally had done something nice for her. 

“Thank you.” She offered. 

“You are welcome.” Owen nodded, and once he was done with his food, he started to fold his blanket and pack everything so they could resume their journey to the south side of the island.

 

* * *

 

“You know, if you keep rubbing your hair like that, it’s just gonna start falling off!” Owen teased the redhead, who had been dealing nonstop with her long hair and trying to feel comfortable with it.

“Ugh, shut up.” Claire brought her hair over her shoulder while following Owen through the jungle.

“Hey! I’m just saying. Have you noticed all the hair you’ve have been losing as we walk?” He stopped and turned to look back.

“Well...” Claire frowned. It hadn’t been that much but still.

“You are leaving a trace so the Gingerbread Hag can come get us.” He joked.

“Isn’t that the one who feeds kids to make them fat?” Claire pointed out as she made it to his side. 

“Hansel and Gretel.” He nodded. 

“I wouldn’t mind a nice homemade meal right now.” Claire figured it would be better to be roasted in a big caldron than walking under the sun.

“Now you are hurting my feelings.” Owen chuckled. “Like, I know you aren’t fond of mother nature, but I like to think my company makes this worth it.”

Claire was quiet, but Owen had just turned to face her in time to catch the small smile creeping in her lips. He smiled to himself and resumed their walking: they had to go as far as the sun and their bodies would allow it if they wanted to make it to the other end in 21 days. 

“Your hair is going to be fine.” Owen casually added after a few minutes of silence.

Claire’s concentration was on her feet and where she was stepping, making sure she could keep up with him and his pace without tripping on some roots or lawn. She looked up and ran her fingers through the ends of her fiery strands. She was trying not to put too much attention on it. 

“It’s all greasy.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“I would make sure you washed it or found a way to make it clean if it weren’t.” He added.

Claire smiled and tilted her head. 

“It will clean itself in three days, you’ll see.” Owen assured her. “It’s shampoo that makes it delicate.”

“Ugh… so I have to deal with it like this for three whole days?” She whimpered.

“You are already halfway there.” He shrugged.

“I guess…” Claire groaned while braiding it. She tied it with the elastic she was wearing on her wrist and kept walking.

Once by his side, Claire adjusted her backpack, and with a smile she kept following his lead. Owen kept going in a straight line down across the island. There was no risk of getting lost if they kept a straight line, and as the hours passed by, Claire was starting to understand this and slowly trust his instincts.

“Have you done this here before?” Claire asked casually as they took a break under the shadow of a tree; they had hit the first obstacle of many they may encounter, and Owen was trying to figure out the best way to overcome it. 

“This is my first time on the island.” He confirmed, panting a little and resting his hands on his legs. He had just come from checking the surroundings see if there was a better path to follow. 

“Did you study the map?” She asked the obvious. Claire had wanted to do that back on the helicopter just so they could maybe avoid this kind of setback.

Owen brushed the back of his neck. He already had a few meters of exhaustion on top of him that Claire didn’t, and he was not in the mood to discuss this with her. “Our safest bet is to go down and then climb back up.” He suggested, eyeing the deep but narrow trench in front of them.

“Um, no.” Claire refused. “I can’t believe you didn’t know this would be here.” She scoffed.

Own rolled his eyes.

“I mean, Mr Jungle Book here couldn’t plan a different route.”

“Come on, it will be fun!” Owen smiled, “And something we can finally record for the show.” He knew they were short on footage, but nothing really exciting had happened — unless Claire being upset over dirty hair was a good episode topic. 

“I don’t know…I don’t know!” She shook her head.

Owen set his GoPro on and slowly fixed her backpack so it could be tight over her shoulders and against her back.

He stepped close to the edge: even if the hole was narrow, it was too wide for them to make it in one jump. “Do you trust me?” He offered his hand and let his hazel eyes fall on hers.

Claire sighed, set her GoPro and nodded. She gulped lightly before taking his hand and let him lead the way down.

“Behave while the camera is rolling. This is not My Super Sweet 16.” Owen teased her before he finally turned his camera on.

Owen had let Claire decide if she wanted to go first as they found their way down the ditch, or if she would rather be behind him and let him lead the way. The redhead had decided for the latter: that way she could mirror his movements, and if she fell, she’d fall over him.

“You are doing great!” Owen moved a little to the side, hearing how junks of soil were falling down as she kept going.

Claire nodded and once she made it to his side, Owen reached for her hand and reassured her.

“Whatever you do, don’t look down.” He offered, making her gulp.

“Why did you ask me that? Now I can’t help looking down!” Claire closed her eyes at the intense need to look.

Once they were a few meters from the ground, Owen let go and jumped down. He cleaned his hands and stood under her. “Let go.” He asked and with a gulp,. Claire did as asked.

“Okay…” She panted and chuckled, glad they had made it to the bottom of the ditch.

“Yeah.” Owen nodded and offered to high five both her hands. “That was pretty good!” He acknowledged her. “You didn’t cry or faint once.”

Claire rolled her eyes, trying to catch her breath, and found a big rock where to sit and rest her legs and her arms for a little while. Owen turned his GoPro off and went looking for her.

The two of them took their backpacks off and dropped them on the ground so their backs could rest too.

“So, when you decided to become a survivalist, you said; ’cool…I can feel like I am about to kill myself’ and signed up for it?” Claire wondered, her eyes looking at the clear sky, her hands protecting them from the radiating sun. 

“How did you know?” He smiled resting next to her.

“You didn’t…” Claire was incredulous.

“I did too!” Owen promised. “I loved the idea of living without any sorts of contamination, plus the adrenaline of finding how to survive with just the basics was very appealing.” 

“You must have hated showers when you were little.” Claire teased.

“I promise we will find a river or something where to get clean.” He assured her. She kept bringing that up, it was evident she felt the need to clean herself and he didn’t blame her; being clean was nice. 

She snorted at the suggestion to take a bath in a river, that was something she never thought she’d do. 

“You haven’t told me what you do for a living.” Owen casually pointed out. 

“Didn’t my sister tell you when she decided to enroll me in the journey to hell?” Claire sat up and looked at Owen, tilting her head.

“You work in public relations.” Owen let her know he had read her application. He had nothing to do with the selection process, but once Claire had been picked up, he had been given her application to read and get familiar with her. “But why?” He asked, mirroring her and sitting back up. 

“I guess I like doing things my way and manipulate people to do as I say.” Claire teased him. 

“I can tell you’re the kind who spends her nights trying to come up with a plan to conquer the world.” He played along. 

“That’s my ultimate goal.” She nodded, following Owen back to the ditch. 

With both GoPros turned on, they started climbing up the other side. Their backpacks were tightly adjusted to their backs. Claire sank her nails into the dirt as she kept going up. At some point, she gained momentum and was doing very well.

“You are almost there!!” Owen encouraged her, Claire not believing she had made it all the way to the top without hesitation or feeling like she was going to kill herself and die. 

“I am. I am!!” She exclaimed happily. She held tight from the edge and tried to set all her body weight on her arms so she could pull herself on it and make it to the other side.

Owen stayed behind her, waiting for her to slide up. A scream alarmed his senses. Claire had misplaced a foot and had slipped. She slid down, his quick reflexes making him reach up and let his hand cup one of her butt cheeks so she wouldn’t crash into him and make them both fall to their deaths.

“ARE YOU CRAZY!?” Claire started wiggling her foot trying to kick him, but he was too far down. 

“No. I am just trying to keep you alive!” He explained.

“By pushing your fingers up my ass? I don’t think so! Let go, please!” Claire demanded. 

“Do you want to fall and die?”

“No.” 

“Then my fingers around your butt will have to do.” He chuckled. “You should calm down… It’s a great butt.”

“EXCUSE ME!!?”

“Just try grasping that branch over there.” Owen tried to motion with his chin. Claire looked up: it was impossible to miss the branch he meant. 

The redhead grunted and managed to reach it and use it to lift her body up and finally make it over the edge. She rolled over on her back and panted, hearing her heart beating fast in her ears. Owen crawled his way up and also spread out next to her, his lungs asking for a moment, trying to remember how to breathe.

“We did it!” They both celebrated, Owen reached out to shut down his GoPro and Claire’s. It would get dark soon and they needed to find a nice spot to spend the night. 

The two of them agreed to walk for as long as there was light enough to guide them. It got dark by 6:30PM, which made their days short, and they needed to make the best of it before being obligated to stop.

By the time the sky went completely dark, the two of them were already on their backs – Claire’s waterproof blanket under them, watching how the sun slowly started to hide. The sky was going from beautiful clear blue to grey and slowly turning dark.

“Have you thought about doing this for a living?” Owen asked her, his eyes glued to the ceiling, admiring the first stars.

“Oh, this is one of those things you don’t think about...you simply don’t do them.” Claire smiled, her eyes also admiring the stars.

“Bummer. You are a natural.” Owen offered. “What you did at the ditch today was pretty cool.” He had noticed her willpower, determination, and strength.

“Thanks…” She nibbled on her lower lip at the compliment.

Owen nodded. “It’s your own merit, you don’t have to thank me.” He added and sitting up, he took his combat boots off.

 

* * *

 

“So, I’ve been scared to ask, but how long can we last without water?” Claire asked, completely parched.

“About a week.” Owen answered her question.

“Okay…” Claire whimpered. “We are not going to wait that long to get some are we?” She asked after a few seconds of silence. 

“Hey…I suggested to have some a few hours ago but you passed.” He reminded her. 

“Water? When!?” She frowned as they kept walking, they had been walking under the sun all day and part of the afternoon. 

Owen turned to look at her and smiled mischievously. 

“Oh gross!!” She now recalled when. “Please tell me you didn’t drink your pee! Ew ew ew…”

“Nah. I’m not that desperate…yet.” Owen reassured her.

“Phew.” She chuckled. “So, I vote we look for some.” 

Owen nodded in agreement and they started walking further with a task. It would be tricky, since they had to explore around without getting lost or start going in circles. It was also tiring, for they were adding kilometers on their exhaustion without really going forward.

“Would you say that we would have reached the west shore by now?” Claire asked casually, as she kept walking to help Owen to find some water.

“WHAT?” Owen called out from the other end; they were quite some meters apart, able to cover more ratio.

“NOTHING.” She yelled back. 

“I FOUND SOME!” Owen celebrated. He dropped his backpack on the ground and grabbed both jars he had been carrying around in it. 

“ON MY WAY!” Claire squealed, glad she would be able to drink some water after all this time. She rushed her step towards the direction in which Owen had been walking. She got disoriented for a moment and started looking around. She knew he was on her left. “MARCO?” She called out.

Owen was patiently waiting for the first jar to be half full against a rock with a small rivulet flowing out. “POLO.” He answered so Claire could follow his voice.

She looked up and turned lightly, “MARCO?” She called out after a few seconds. 

“POLO!” Owen called back again. He set the first jar down and started filling the second one.

Claire’s eyes lit up when she finally saw Owen from a dozen meters away. She trotted her way there and smiled, “Hi Marco.” She greeted, happy to see both jars were now filled and ready for them to have some water. 

“Hey Polo.” He offered back. “We have to boil this before we can drink it.” He reminded her; getting rid of germs was of high importance. 

Both Claire and Owen put a fire together with dry branches. This time around they did it faster, Claire already familiar with the procedure, so she didn’t have to wait for his instructions and she already knew what to do. They truly made a good team, she had to admit that. 

The sun quickly set down on them while they waited for their water to boil; the duo had agreed to stay around that area for the night and then find their way back south early in the morning.

They both set one of the blankets on the ground while their water cooled off a little: it was over 22°C out there, and boiling water would not only burn their throats, but make the heat more unbearable.  

“Cheers!” They each toasted with their jars of clean water and Claire immediately tilted it so she could start gulping it down. 

“Hey, slow down!” Owen managed to stop her midway. “Small gulps are best.” He nodded. “Plus gulping it down is not good for your body.” He shared with her.

Claire nodded lightly. She let her eyes fall on his tenderly while she let the jar cover her blushed cheeks and slowly started to sip her water.


	3. Days 4 & 5

Just like the past two mornings, Owen was the first one to wake up. He was starting to doubt Claire’s claim that she was an early bird. The sun rose around 6:45AM on Isla Nublar, and if he didn’t wake her up, she would probably sleep throughout the day.

He slowly started to blow the few strands of her long red hair he had on his lips and brushed the rest of it off his face. He had spooned her all night, it seemed, judging by the position he had found himself in. He slowly rested her hair over her shoulder, his fingers gently sliding across her warm freckled skin. He inhaled the pure air surrounding them, and after releasing a long sigh, he adjusted and turned on his back, folding his arms under his head and just let his eyes take in the beautiful blue sky above. 

It didn’t take him long to acknowledge the little tent his morning wood had formed under the blanket they were sharing. He sighed again and cautiously ran his arm under the blanket and reached for it, undoing his pants in the process.

His eyes fell on the woman soundly asleep next to him; he decided to get up and go for a walk around the trees a few meters away from their little camping spot to take care of what the scent of her pheromones had awakened in him.

Owen also grabbed their jars on his way to find a private corner to handle himself, so he could take advantage of his little trip to get more water. 

He was back just in time to find Claire sitting on their blankets, fixing her hair into a pony tail. Her eyes lit up at the view of their jars filled with water. 

“Good morning to us!” She celebrated, fixing her top and putting her shoes on, before she carefully stood up and helped him with the boiling process.

“I couldn’t find any decent breakfast today, I’m sorry.” Owen apologized. 

“It’s okay. We’ll find something on our way.” Claire smiled softly before she grabbed one of the jars and set it over the fire he had just started. 

“I think we should share one and take the other one with us. I don’t know how long it will be until we find more.” He rubbed the back of his neck. Boiling water took its time, and they couldn’t afford to stay in that spot any longer: they had already lost about an hour of light, which meant they had to hurry their step if they wanted to make up for it.

Claire helped folding their blankets and making sure all their belongings were inside their backpacks while Owen checked on their water. She found his shoes and brought them to him so he could start getting ready.

Owen smiled back at her and put them on; once their water was ready, he let her have the first sips. They took turns with the same jar before they agreed to take off.

Claire fixed her backpack over her shoulders and smiled softly at the feeling of Owen’s hand caressing her shoulder, making sure she wasn’t wearing it too loose. Once they exchanged a look, they started walking south. It was time to find their way to the shore and continue their journey.

 

* * *

 

“You always have to be a jerk!” Claire pushed Owen away from her. Every day seemed to go that way: she would wake up in a good mood, wanting to collaborate and try that thing people called team work, but he always found ways to infuriate her. 

Owen chuckled. He found it sexy that she was so explosive and intense. No one could really blame him for trying to push her buttons. 

“I’m just saying, if you are feeling like your skin is dry, fresh shit can do the trick.” He laugh. 

“Fuck you.” She crossed her arms against her chest and started walking faster, a frown heavy between her brows.

“It’s even better than the mud they use for those masks at the spa — and cheaper! That one was a free sample.” He looked behind, pointing out at the pile of crap they had found on their path. 

“I said, Fuck. You!” She didn’t want to hear it. Claire was just expressing how uncomfortable she was feeling, trying to vent a little, and he always found a way to mock her. “I’m done talking to you!” She abruptly snatched her shoulders away from his hands.

“You can’t just spend all the time without talking to me.” He chuckled, running his fingers along her ponytail — something he had learned she liked. “Humans need company and communication as much as food and water.” 

“Maybe we can find a troop of monkeys you can satisfy that tertiary need with...” She offered. “You stupid caveman.” She grunted under her breath. “Maybe they’ll adopt you, too.” 

Claire stopped ranting the moment she felt his hand tightly massaging the back of her neck: the sensation of his finger pads against her nape triggered something inside of her. She gulped and slowly turned her eyes up, making contact with his.

His chest was puffed out as he stood tall in front of Claire, but his gaze was gentle on her. She moaned lightly, unable to break the penetrating communication their eyes were having.

Owen took a step closer, his fingers still gentle but firm around her, before he slowly let go of her neck, letting his digits linger through her hair. 

Claire gulped. He took another step closer, and that made her move one foot back, ready to step back if he got closer.

“Alright then.” He smiled, almost as if sealing the unspoken agreement they had discussed only with their eyes and their body language: he was in charge here, but he would take good care of her and protect her.

Claire sighed and nodded her head lightly, her fingers slowly brushing his bicep as she turned around so they could resume their walk. “What?” She tilted her head, following Owen’s hazel eyes, which were admiring a red tail boa.

“HOLY SH—” 

“Shhhh!!” 

“Don’t you shh—”

“Shhh...” Owen slowly took her hand, moving smoothly towards the snake who was coming down from a tree, probably in search of some water. 

“No, Owen! Are you crazy!?” She pulled back from his hand, watching him reach out with his free one. 

“It’s a boa... they are harmless!” He assured her, his hand untangling from hers, her fingers curling around his bicep.

“But it’s so large and thick!” She didn’t believe him, "And I’m sure those teeth aren’t just part of her charm.” 

“Interesting how you are assuming it’s a she.” Owen teased her. Claire rolled her eyes. “it’s just a baby...” He let the snake slide around his arm, highlighting the vein that ran between his muscles.

Claire sheltered her body behind him, letting their fingers lace when Owen reached back for her hand. He felt her panting against his ear, hesitantly letting her arm rest on his as the snake slowly made its way along his limb.

Claire narrowed her eyes, watching the snake take its long thin black tongue out, hid from her view behind Owen’s neck. She couldn’t help noticing the scent of testosterone feeding her nostrils. 

“I changed my mind.” She quickly pulled her hand from him, letting her nerves get the best of her and shiver away from Owen, turning her back to him.

Owen laughed, giving the snake its freedom and setting it back down on the branch it had come from. “You are seriously not scared of her.”

“So, it is a she, huh?” Claire smiled, slightly proud.

“They are larger and more rounded.” He nodded. “And by the way, if large, thick and round intimidate you...you don’t wanna see me naked.” He winked charmingly.

Claire rolled her eyes and scoffed audibly. “Oh. My. God. Please.” She looked away, before a tiny smirk grew on her face. “By experience, though…only men with tiny dicks feel the need to brag about their size.” She added, raising her eyebrows provocatively.

Owen was already rubbing his fingers against the front of his pants, a mischievous smirk on his face, Claire’s eyes watching him thoughtfully. 

“What…?” She breathed, already knowing she would regret asking that. She always regretted everything that came after that silly — and VERY charming — smirk of his. 

“By ‘experience’… would you call this small?” He flattened his pants around his crotch, his evidently large dick resting under them. Four days in the wild had already slowly waken up very primal behavior and instincts in both of them, making him ignore what might be completely frowned upon and labeled as borderline harassment in the eyes of society.

Claire could swear his flaccid cock was almost as long as his thigh. She could clearly see it leaning slightly to the right and it was very inviting. The thickness of it made her slightly adjust on her feet, unaware she had taken more than a second to stare.

“You are vulgar and inappropriate.” Claire scoffed, looking away, completely failing to look annoyed by his advances. 

“We are out here alone, just chill a little bit. Enjoy the freedom, away from oversensitive judgment.” Owen suggested, before resting his hand on her shoulder on his way to the side of the path, taking his backpack off and looking for his camera. 

“So, I just saved our contestant from a dreadful red tail boa. I am sorry you guys missed it, but it was a chaos out here: lots of screaming and crying.” He started narrating while facing the camera, trying to see if he could find the snake, but it was already gone. “Claire wouldn’t believe me when I said they came in that size.” He grinned, the redhead beside him rolling her eyes. “It was definitely thick…let me tell ya, she was intimidated. Could she ever get over the initial shock and act on her instincts and reach out for it and stroke it?” He gave the camera a look and offered a thoughtful stare.

Claire pursed her lips and looked up while shaking her head, not amused by his little tease. “It sure was almighty.” She agreed, making Owen’s face break into a cocky smile. “If that’s how it looked while resting, I can only imagine how it looks when it’s ready to attack.” She looked over and let her eyes fall on his. “And about stroking it, I don’t know…maybe next time I come face to face with it I won’t be so shy.” She shrugged, internally laughing at Owen’s audible gulp.

 

* * *

 

That evening, Claire was glad the sun had finally set so they could rest for the night. She was exhausted, and once they agreed on a cozy but quite tiny area to camp, she sat down and took her Timberlands off. She threw her socks to the side and just wiggled her toes before she massaged her feet lightly.

Owen could tell their journey was already wearing her down: she wasn’t used to any of that, and their days consisted of hours of walking, with very few breaks.

“I’ll go back to the stream we left behind for some water and maybe start the fire later.” He offered, so she could start resting and relaxing right away, and just get comfortable.

Claire nodded, and with a grateful smile she watched him leave to get some water. She stayed behind and decided to help setting their blankets down; she internally dwelled on whether or not to go fetch some wood for the fire, but she didn’t have any energy left to do more than tossing the blankets to the side after pulling them out of their backpacks.

Once back at base camp, Owen dropped his whole body next to hers. He was tired too, it had been a long day. The space was too small for both of them, but they managed to adjust and have Claire’s shoulder resting against his, their knees brushing against each other as they kept their legs bent up. They were completely comfortable with each other by then, not minding the obligatory closeness — both of them secretly enjoying it. 

Their nights were spent getting to know each other, and this was the third time they agreed on a topic they could talk about with honesty — it was almost therapeutic, letting the other know what they thought about each other’s anecdotes.

This time they chose to discuss their previous relationships. It was Claire’s turn to start talking and let Owen know how her last one had gone, and what had happened. She had been in a long term relationship, one that she thought was very serious, making her think she could have found the one.

“You know, it was one of those big oopsies, and ended up being a waste of time.” She shrugged while looking at her hands.

“Did you love him?” Owen wondered, genuinely interested in listening to her.

“No.” She shook her head. “I mean of course at the time…I thought I did, but now that I look back…I don’t think I ever truly did.” She shrugged.

“What happened?” He frowned and tilted his head, trying to find her eyes.

“He cheated on me.” She chuckled almost mockingly, “Which I guess means he didn’t really love me either.” She finally let her eyes fall on his. “After that, I just decided to date my job…you know? Just dedicate myself entirely to that and not bother with anything else.” She nibbled on her lower lip. “Which I guess makes me a workaholic and apparently that’s not healthy either…” She rolled her eyes playfully.

Owen sighed. “So you were dating a loser with no balls.” 

Claire laughed. “If I weren’t starting to get to know you…I would think you were insulting me.” 

He laughed along. “Whatever man decides to make you his, needs a big pair of balls, Claire…” Owen knew that’s how she had taken it, and he agreed with that. “But, I meant that he just wasn’t man enough…he didn’t really deserve you.”

The redhead smiled softly, the fire sizzling a few inches away from them making her eyes sparkle.

“What bra size is his new mistress?” Owen asked casually, wanting to know more about the story. 

“What?” Claire was puzzled, “Why does that even matter?” She shook her head. 

“It matters.” He insisted. 

“32B” Claire shrugged.

“You knowing her bra size confirms it matters.” He teased her.

“Shut up and tell me what it means.” 

“If your heart beats for only a 32B cup…that might be real love.” He offered, his eyes slowly falling on her breasts.

“Do you mind?” She crossed her arms against them, covering them from him. 

“It was definitely not meant to be.” He shrugged. They were blunt with each other: honesty was the main ingredient during their conversations, which made them subconsciously connect and understand each other in more ways than they could tell. 

“You don’t say!” She scoffed. 

“Have you ever been in love?” Owen asked, since she said she never loved her ex-boyfriend.

Claire shook her head, “No.” She was very positive about that. “You know, being in love is very complex. I guess the moment you find yourself willing to sacrifice everything for the other person, the moment you put them and their needs first…that’s when you know you are in love in a way, don’t you think?” 

Owen nodded his head. “I mean…I don’t know.” He laughed. “I’ve never been close to having a formal girlfriend, let alone knowing what all that fluffiness and gushiness is.” He confessed.

“I don’t believe you.” She laughed. 

“It’s true. I just don’t really feel the need to compromise. I am more of a ‘flings and one-night stands’ kind of guy.” He had no issue sharing that. “I have had two women at the same time” He added sheepishly, just to watch her roll her eyes. “But no woman has ever really had me.” 

Claire was quiet for a moment.

“The whole threesome thing is very overrated, though. I’m not planning on doing that anytime soon.” He added. 

She nodded and adjusted in their little space, trying to shift her legs since they had fallen asleep. 

“It’s not that I don’t want to commit, either.” He cleared his throat, Claire’s eyes finding his. She found it amusing that he seemed to be trying to gain her approval with this whole deal. “If I meet the right woman, I would definitely commit to her. It’s more like— I am not really looking for it, but if it happens, then I would let fate take its course.”

Claire giggled and with a soft smile nodded her head, “Okay.” She acknowledged casually, slowly resting her head against his chest, feeling how sleep was slowly taking over her. 

“Yeah.” He breathed, his eyes falling on her, watching her slowly drift off. 

“Goodnight Owen.” She murmured drowsily, letting her eyes fall shut, not fighting to open them.

“Goodnight…” He offered back, adjusting carefully, trying not to disturb her and running his arm around her shoulders to make more space.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Claire was happy to wake up to breakfast. Owen had gone fishing, taking advantage of the stream that ran along their little camping site. Claire rushed to help him prepare it, happy they were having a decent meal for a change. The redhead devoured her portion: never in her life had she felt as hungry as she did that morning. 

“Slow down…” He scolded her a little. “Small and slow bites trick the stomach and give it the feeling of being full faster.” He explained. 

“Please take this as me being extremely hungry, but I can’t help it…It’s so good.” She smiled before bringing a pinch of the meat to her lips.

“I am glad you like it, since I caught it with my bare hands and all.” He casually bragged.

“Really?” Claire raised an eyebrow.

“Yep.” 

“Do you think you can show me how to do that?” It sounded like fun, and like something she not only needed to see him try, but she needed to experience. It was the first thing in those five days that had actually caught her attention. 

“Sure.” He agreed, “But finish your food first.” He smiled while nibbling on some of his food. Claire smiled brightly and agreed with a nod that they could go to the stream after breakfast and work on it. 

After they were done with breakfast, eager to try a new adventure, Claire raced Owen to the stream; she stopped at the bank to take her Timberlands off and start rolling the legs of her pants up. Owen laughed behind her and just lifted her up in his arms and ran into the water with her, hearing her scream with excitement.

He set her down by a couple of rocks so she could keep her balance and he made sure the bottom wouldn’t be too rough on her bare feet. They were now standing upstream, near a little fall where fish had no other choice but to jump to get to the top and keep swimming.

Being in the water was refreshing in many ways. Claire felt like a little girl, unable to stop smiling while her eyes were focused on the water, waiting for those little fish to come their way.

Owen had taken advantage of her suggestion and decided to bring his GoPro with him and record the whole thing. This would be the first time the audience would see the redhead so upbeat and engaging so eagerly with nature. 

“Here they come!” Owen pointed out at a little school approaching them. “First, squat down lightly and get ready to catch them mid-air.” He positioned his knees and did it a couple of times so she could mirror him. “And just pretend someone is throwing them to you.” He suggested, almost like catching a pass.

Owen smiled to himself, and the moment the first fish jumped, he caught it with no trouble. Claire’s eyes grew big; he reached out and turned his GoPro off. “You know…some species hunt in order to impress their females.” He teased her, letting Claire take a closer look at the fish before he let it back into the water to swim away. 

“Is that what you are doing, Grady?” She pursed her lips.

“Is it working?” He flirted, making her blush, before she shook her head.

“No.” She lied.

“Then it is not what I’m doing.” He laughed. “You are a lioness, you do the hunting.” He offered as a compliment.

Claire fixed her eyes on him for a moment before he reached out and turned his camera on. Claire tried to copy his posture as they waited for the next group of fish to come their way. She squealed excitedly when they started jumping. She tried to reach for the fish, but she wasn’t even close to catching them; from his camera’s angle it was very evident that she was missing for a long shot, making it hilarious to watch. 

“I don’t know who is throwing these at me, but they are very clumsy.” She teased. She adjusted her feet, trying to find a better spot, her fingers holding tight onto Owen’s bicep until she felt comfortable and secure enough to let go. The stream running through them from behind was fast and strong.

“Okay, ready?” He offered, a new group of fish getting ready to jump. 

“I got this!!” She said with determination before she got ready. One fish jumped up and slipped between her hands, making Owen laugh. 

“Make sure to watch that one in slow motion guys.” He advised the audience, it was worth it just for the face she had made. 

“I am not moving until I catch one, so your team better know the meaning of editing.” She was full of determination, which Owen admired, but they also had a lot of walking to do.

“Alright.” He agreed before walking around. He steadily stood behind her and helped her bend her knees at the right angle. 

Claire looked over her shoulder and smiled softly at him, his hands smoothly running down her freckled arms before he laced his fingers with hers over the back of her hands. Claire gulped softly and let him take control of her hands. 

“Ready?” He breathed, watching her nod. “One…two…three!” They both synchronized as they prepared for the fish jumping close by, Owen moving her arms fast, reaching out for it so she could catch it. 

She squealed, feeling the fish wiggling in her hands. It was slimy and gross, but she didn’t care: at that moment she was just happy she had managed to do it. Owen let go of her and let her show the fish to the camera before she let go of it. 

They high fived with both hands and slowly started to walk out of the stream so they could continue their journey.

 

* * *

 

At sunset, they decided to stop for a moment. They had found the perfect spot to spend the night, and the sky was a peculiar shade of orange that afternoon. It would be a sin not to take a minute to admire it. Claire was already waiting on a large rock for him, the jungle free of trees in that small area.

Owen set his GoPro on and let it rest on a rock behind them, asking their audience to enjoy the view for a moment while he and Claire went through some stuff a few feet away, Owen pointing out at the redhead’s back, their rock included in the shot.

Claire smiled when he came to sit by her side holding his rope. “You are fast learner, you know?” He complimented her and tapped her knee with his knuckles. 

“Or you are just a great teacher.” She nudged him playfully. “What is that for?” She wondered, pointing out at the rope.

“Can you do a bowline knot?” He asked, knowing it might come in handy, and it was something she could help him with at any given moment. 

Claire shook her head. “Is that the bunny-something-tree-something one?” She smiled with a light blush on her cheeks. 

Owen nodded with a chuckle. 

“See, I know stuff.” She joked.

He looked down at the rope and started working on it. “It goes like this: the rabbit goes out of the hole, in front of the tree, goes behind the tree, and back down the original hole.” He explained, looking up from his hands only to find Claire staring at him with a soft smile.

Owen smiled softly after hearing her release a small sigh, the two of them shifting closer on the rock before breaking eye contact. Claire slowly brushed her fingers against his, reaching out for the rope so she could try the knot. 

Now Owen was the one unable to take his eyes off her while she perfectly recited the little steps, making a perfect bowline knot.


	4. Days 6 & 7

Sleeping into day six was probably the best night they’d had so far. Claire had gone to bed feeling a little fuzzy and with a light smile on her face. That morning also turned out to be the first one when she woke up before Owen. She found it odd to find him still soundly asleep next to her; she had no idea what time it was, but judging from the bright sun above them, she could guess it was later than his usual wake up time.

She managed to sit up on their blankets and fix her ponytail, her eyes falling on him and witnessing for the first time how his chest rose and fell with every breath he took. Claire smiled to herself; he was sleeping shirtless, which was something she had no idea he did.

The redhead bit her lower lip and blushed at the thought invading her mind, internally bummed that she hadn’t appreciated that enough. Her green orbs danced over his frame, and slowly reached out. There was something inside of her invading her mind, her willpower not able to stop her from running her fingers gently through his chest hair and then brushing down.

She gasped softly when Owen reached for her hand in his sleep, letting it rest against his heart beat. He hugged her arm and turned to his side, getting comfortable.

Claire sighed, realizing she was liking the way his rough digits felt against her flesh. This was not good, since she had to stay concentrated, and they were just finishing the first third of their journey: they still had a long way to go. Then again, he was asleep, and they weren’t scouting yet, so that enabled her to have a little moment and feel the involuntary chemicals her body was creating accelerate her heartbeat.

She knew that was her cue to step back, and slipped her hand from under his touch. “Alright…rise and shine!” She offered, snatching the blankets from his torso, hoping he wasn’t naked under there.

“It’s Saturday!” He complained and turned on his chest, allowing Claire to notice how perfect his butt was, even when he was laying down. She couldn’t help but admire every muscle of his: his big arms and strong legs. He had big feet too, and she also paid attention to the little hair he had on his limbs, blond glistening in the sunlight.

Claire found the firm line running down his spine extremely sexy, and it was taking a lot for her to not just reach out and cup his butt cheeks. Her reaction towards the way she was feeling was slightly sexual, her thoughts being triggered just by looking at him. Claire could tell he was the perfect mate: He was strong and clever. He had been providing for her and making her feel safe out there. She had food, water, and shelter because he made sure of that, which was starting to be a turn on.

Claire cleared her throat to push all these newfound thoughts to the back of her mind. “Fine. I’ll go find some water and I guess you can stay lying here, sleepy head.” She tossed the blanket back over him and, grabbing their jars and her GoPro, she started walking in search of some water. She had her camera on; she didn’t know if the footage would make it after editing but she thought it’d be fun to just film her venturing out there alone.

It didn’t take her long to find a little stream. She had left barefoot for the first time since arriving on the island, so she was loving the way the breeze felt on her skin.

She set the first jar to the side and started working on filling the next. Meanwhile, back at their like campsite, Owen hadn’t been able to go back to bed. He had sat over their blankets and kept his ears perked up for any unusual sound.

The man rubbed the back of his neck with a chuckle once he realized how protective he was feeling, and lay down on his back, knowing he should let her venture on her own. However, there was that annoying little gut feeling bugging him and leaving him unsettled about the whole idea of Claire going too far off and needing him, and him not being there for her.

Owen rested his arm over his forehead and tried think of something else. He knew she was very independent and probably wanted to savor her first solo experience without him doubting her abilities. It was just water anyways.

The man opened his eyes at the realization that the little birds chirping around had gone quiet; it was a mere second later that he heard her screaming in panic, calling out for him. Owen jumped up quicker than ever, and started running down the path he had seen her take.

Back at the stream, Claire was crying, feeling completely paralyzed. A 9-foot long boa had made its way to the stream when it got distracted by Claire. The 60 pound reptile slid slowly around her leg, too heavy and strong for the woman to do anything.

Her GoPro had an angle from the top, giving a shot that could be straight out of a horror movie. “Please...please get off me.” She sobbed, trembling. The animal had already wrapped itself tightly around her leg three times, from her ankle up to her knee.

Coming face to face with this image, Owen’s protective instinct went into overdrive. He ran the rest of his way towards Claire, and pulling his Swiss pocket knife out, he started stabbing the boa without mercy and full of anger.

Claire whined, her leg stained with the dead animal’s blood. She closed her eyes, trying to stop shaking as she felt the thick reptile loosen from her limb, Owen pushing it to the side.

“Shhhhh....” He let her cling to him, stroking her back gently, helping her calm down. He reached out for the camera and turned it off. There was no need for their audience to see this or her in that state.

Claire hugged him tight and nuzzled into his neck, taking in his scent. He brushed his fingers down her cheeks, trying to clean her tears, but they only turned into mud. He had to fight the need to kiss them away.

Owen slowly carried her in his arms bridal style and stepped into the stream. He had her sit on a big rock there and slowly started to wash the blood off her leg. He managed to take most of it off her pants, and letting his fingers brush up her skin, he folded both pant-legs up her calves. His rough pads examined her ankles to help her get her circulation back. He kneeled on the rocks and rested her foot on his lap.

There was something about making sure she was okay that was accelerating his heartbeat. “It’s okay...” He assured her, seeing her nod. He took some water in his hands and washed her face. “I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”

Claire nibbled on her lower lip, fixing her eyes on his. “I know.” She murmured, rubbing her own fingers around her ankle, still feeling sore. Owen caressed her hand a little before he kept working on her leg, reassuring her that everything was okay.

After playing a little in the water and let her distract her mind a little, the two of them headed back to their camping site, His hand around her waist while she held close to him, and the dead snake hanging from his shoulder: the only good thing about this was that they now had some food for breakfast.

Owen had cut a portion big enough for the two of them and let it roast in a small fire so they could eat it.

Claire rested against his chest, feeling his fingers undoing her ponytail. She smiled softly and looked up, their eyes making contact for a second before she looked back to the front. She was twirling the branch so their food would cook evenly.

“Your hair looks great.” He murmured, his fingers brushing it gently. “It already cleaned on its own and it looks amazing.” He noticed. 

“I still feel the urge to wash it.” She wrinkled her nose. She felt gross, but she figured that just like she didn’t mind he was all dirty, he didn’t mind that she was.

“I like it.” He insisted, his fingers slowly working on French braiding it, starting from her temple to the side of her head, before it started to slowly loosen. “It’s very shiny and soft.”

“The first thing I’m doing once I’m home is shaving my head.” She assured him. “Unless you really like it...” She blushed while looking at their food sizzling.

“I do like it.” He was soft with her hair, almost done with the braid.

“Then I guess I won’t shave it.” She flirted, slowly leaning against him, his arms falling around her waist protectively.

“Good.” He offered, his eyes falling on hers once she looked over her shoulder.

Claire felt her green orbs move down to his lips, his fingers gently running along her braid. “We should go.” She murmured, interrupting their little moment, to which Owen agreed.

After breakfast and packing — including a good chunk of the snake — they resumed their journey. Claire had insisted she was okay and they had already lost half the day and she knew they had to make up for it.

They managed to walk for a few hours before it started to get dark, Claire pushing for a few more minutes to keep going, at least until they found a suitable place to spend the night.

Once settled, they started looking for dried branches in their surroundings just like every night. Together they started to build their fireplace and adjust the blankets around it.

Even if it got hot at times, the fire and the smoke kept mosquitoes away, so they always slept close to the pit.

Claire watched him quietly for a couple of seconds while he rolled a stick of wood between his palms onto a larger piece so he could start their fire. Owen looked up, noticing she was paying careful attention to what he was doing and smiled at her. 

“Would you teach me?” She asked softly. Owen nodded eagerly and reached out for his camera so they could record this.

Claire sat next to him and paid attention to every instruction he gave her. “This is the bow-drill method.” He explained. “This is the spindle, and this is the fire board.” He continued while explaining to her the characteristics both pieces of wood needed to have, included the desired length and diameter, so it was more efficient for the fire. 

The woman nodded at each step he explained while giving her a show and tell. He grabbed some tinder and started to make their fire while Claire absorbed the demonstration. Once both her and the (future) audience had witnessed how their little ball of tinder was smoking, he let it start their fire and handed both sticks of wood over so she could try.

It took a few minutes before Claire got the hang of it; he had to help her with positioning her hands correctly and posture all together. Soon enough, she was celebrating how her tinder had caught fire. She grinned proudly towards the camera to show how she had succeeded on her task. Claire placed it in their little campfire and they high fived. 

The two of them forgot the camera was on for a moment, Claire finding herself getting comfortable against his chest. 

“You know, tomorrow you will be holding the record of most days spent here with me.” He encouraged her, moving her hair to her front and gently caressing her shoulder. 

“Are you proud?” She asked with a smile, her green eyes sparking against the sizzling of their fire and the timber burning. 

“Never been prouder in my life.” He assured her with a light murmur before he reached out to turn his camera off and adjusted with her in their little corner, waiting for the fire to be big enough to cook some snake for dinner.

 

* * *

 

Their seventh day on the island welcomed them with a grey sky, which Owen knew only meant one thing: it was going to rain. Being the rain forest, that was a given, in fact some afternoons and early in the morning they had been blessed with a light drizzle, which was normal but they had always happened with a clear sky.

“We should hurry.” Owen suggested while he looked up, big clouds refreshing the temperature since they were covering the sun; but they also travelled fast, and the ones coming behind them weren’t so white, and were heavy with rain. It was very probable that there were parts of the island where it was already raining.

Claire nodded her head and settled her backpack over her shoulders. “It feels so good though. Some rain won’t harm us.” She took a deep breath, enjoying the moment of fresh air and for once not feeling sticky. 

Owen turned his camera on so they could record their journey. “Today we are going to invest our hours into finding a shelter to wait for the rain to pass. That shit is pretty imminent as you can see.” He moved the camera to take a look at how those grey clouds were practically on top of them. 

“How long do you think it’s gonna take before it starts raining?” Claire wondered, curious to see if he could tell. 

“Here in Central America that’s not possible to say.” He chuckled while they walked. “But the moment you look straight up and see those clouds above you? It’s time to go inside.” He explained, “That would be the weather’s five-minute warning.” He rubbed the back of his neck, “To put it like that.” He didn’t know if it would be five minutes or not even one at all. It could take an hour to start raining, or sometimes the clouds would change their mind and move along and let it rain somewhere else. 

Claire nodded. She had noticed how those grey clouds were tailing them: it was almost like a game they were playing.

They walked for a couple of hours. They were going faster than usual, since the sun wasn’t there to exhaust them and the weather actually felt cool enough for them to hurry their step. Owen made sure Claire and the audience noticed how there were times when the clouds would stop moving and leave them with a clear sky, but were quick to catch up with them. There were times when there was just one clear spot surrounded by grey clouds and thunder could be heard in the distance. 

Drizzle started to fall gently, but neither of them minded. It was refreshing, and the temperature was still above 30°C so they would be fine. Besides, Claire always showed a liberating energy around water, and Owen couldn’t take that away from her. 

He started to lead them through trees so they could shelter from getting soaked and still enjoy the rain falling on them. “I think we found our shelter.” He smiled once they reached an end. A rocky mound in front of them offered a protruding end which would hug them for as long as they needed to stay there.

Thunders started to get closer, making Owen look up. “That’s our five-minute warning.” He had Claire look up so she could see how the sky was completely grey over them, but around them it was clear, which was hilarious to those who weren’t used to it.

Now that Claire knew how to tie knots, she helped Owen lay her waterproof blanket over it, so it could work as a curtain. 

Without warning, it started pouring, and with the rain the temperature dropped a few degrees. At first it was refreshing, but even if still at 20°C, their bodies felt it cold enough to put their jackets on. It was that kind of experience that made Claire realize how being warm or cold was relative to the location; back at home she wouldn’t even bother with a jacket at that temperature, but here it was slightly chilly.

“You know, I have always liked sleeping to the sound of rain. I don’t know why…since I was a little girl.” Claire admitted while they got comfortable in their little cave, his arm around her shoulder, unable to keep himself from sheltering her after what had happened that morning. 

“My buddies and I used to sneak out of the house when it would start raining and just ride our bikes through puddles.” He laughed at the memory. Claire chuckled picturing that.

“The nineties were an amazing time to be a child.” She agreed. 

Owen gasped. “What makes you think I am that old?” He sounded offended, “If anything I am a 90s baby.” She scoffed. “Did you ever do anything like that?” He wondered, very curious, his knuckles caressing her shoulder while she leaned closer to him.

Claire nibbled on her lower lip and tried to think. “Not really… I was a well-behaved kid.” She felt embarrassed about that for some reason.

“For some reason I don’t believe you.”

“It’s true!” She blushed and covered her face with her hands. “Trust me, you have no idea how much I wished I had something amazing to tell you and impress you, but I don’t.”

“So what?” He snorted, “You would just gather with your girlfriends and play M A S H?” He laughed. 

“Oh my god!” Claire had completely forgotten about that game. “I haven’t played that in ages! It was so fun!” She smiled.

“What is the most amazing husband you ever got paired up with in your story?” He asked, messing with her. 

“That’s easy, Dylan McKay.” Claire smiled. “We would have two kids – Which only makes sense.” She made Owen laugh hysterically at that. “What?”

“Nothing, is just the way you said that.” He laughed.

“How? How did I say that?”

“With that sexy bedroom voice you just did.” He pointed out. 

Claire blushed and cleared her throat. “Well, if you were a woman you would understand.” She rolled her eyes. 

“Do you wanna play?” He offered, fetching a little branch from the fire place burning in front of them.

Claire smiled and nodded taking the little piece of wood from him to use as a pencil on the soil under them. She started to write the board between them so he could see it. She chose three categories to keep the tradition. “This is going to be your story…” She insisted, leaving him to choose four potential wives, four types of car, four types of house. “And remember, one of them has to be the absolute worst.” 

“I remember.” He nodded, writing down all his options and then closing his eyes he started drawing the spiral in the middle.

“STOP!” Claire giggled. Once he did, they counted the rings to get his lucky number. He got 8, which wasn’t bad. She looked down at his options and narrowed her eyes, seeing her name under wives. “Am I really the worst you’d be able to do?” She snorted. 

“No, that’s my golden choice that’s why you are number one.” He offered. “These are all real chicks that I have either banged or wish to bang.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“Ugh. Let’s just play.” She rolled her eyes, unable to hide her blush. Claire started counting from one to eight over and over as she went through every category option, including the numbers and letters on the top and bottom of their board.

Owen smiled sweetly at her, watching her so eagerly eliminate option after option and get a little anxious when it seemed she was about to eliminate her name out of the game.

She scratched her head and pursed her lips at his result, and looking away, she blushed. 

“Read me my story please.” He couldn’t help but chuckle, loving the look in her eyes.

“You…you are going to marry Claire Dearing.” She shook her head, blushing endlessly thanks to his constant chuckle, “Live in a tiled roof hut, we will be...I mean YOU will be too poor to afford a car, and have four kids.” She scoffed.

“Four, huh?” He smiled cheekily, “That’s two more than your Beverly Hills pretty boy could ever!” He offered sheepishly.

“There’s no way I am living in some hut” She shook her head, “Or having four kids.” She shook her head.

“We can discuss this further in the future.” He teased her before they got comfortable so they could get some sleep. 

“Hmm…” They sure would. “You bet.” She smiled softly, feeling him spoon her and hold her tight in his arms.

“Goodnight for now.” He offered, fitting perfectly against her as the big spoon.

“Goodnight.” She sighed softly, letting the sound of the loud rain relax her and the warmth of his embrace keep her safe.


	5. Hiatus Announcement

Hello,

So as some of you may have noticed, it’s been almost a month since my last update. I used to juggle a handful of stories simultaneously and post new chapters daily. 

However, for the past few months now, I have been feeling unmotivated to keep updating my stories. I slowly started to go from posting every day, to every two days, until completely stopping.

The reason why I’m writing this note and letting you guys know that I might not continue posting, is because I didn’t want to leave the few of you who constantly shared your enthusiasm hanging and waiting. I appreciate all of you and I felt like I needed to let you know what happened that I abruptly stopped updating.

I haven’t stopped writing though. I have a handful of unpublished chapters for each of the 4 fics that are WiP. I just don’t feel the urge or a reason to share more chapters anymore. 

(If you follow me on twitter, this hiatus being “official” doesn’t come as a surprise). 

You guys have no idea how crucial and essential it is for a fanfic writer to have feedback and constant encouragement to keep posting and writing, especially for multi-chapters. The fact that a reader takes ten — hell, even just two — minutes of their time to stop by the comments section to share their thoughts on the chapter/one shot and leave a review, helps us to see that you guys are actually reading, enjoying and following the storyline, which is the main fuel for motivation and enthusiasm in publishing. 

The silence that us writers get — and I’m saying “us” because I know it’s not just me who feels like giving up — after every update translates to people not being interested. 

I wanted to share with you guys our POV to give you another perspective (the most important one) on how it’s like to be on this side of Fanfiction.

It’s a lot of work to write a chapter. Oneshots are easier, but a multi-chapter takes a lot of energy, and they are very consuming (especially if they are long). It takes me about 8 hours to write a chapter (and some writers take days or even a couple of weeks), and I often change my mindset from one fanfic setting to a completely different one, which is really exhausting; no one out there does the same, or at least I don’t think so. So, getting in the mindset of a couple of teenagers dealing with a pair of square snob parents one day, and the following day change my perspective to write a couple who is in the middle of the jungle trying to survive with nothing but their instincts, just to then end up getting little to no appreciation, is very discouraging.

Yes, you might come back to read each update, but the only way us writers have of knowing that you are enjoying it and anticipate an update, is if you let us know. 

Fanfiction is a two way relationship between writer and reader: the writer needs you guys to be active readers, to engage with us, and let us know you are liking the story, what you like or not, snips you are catching here and there, etc. Just like you guys need the author to update and keep your favorite stories going. And by not engaging, it comes across as you guys not being interested in the work, which results in us losing motivation and eagerness to keep writing.  

There can be many reasons why people don’t take a few minutes to write a heartfelt review or a few words, but in general it’s not really fair, and believe me, it feels like no one is on the other end, or that the stories you have to tell are ignored or just bad. 

Like I said; it takes us hours, days, weeks to put together one chapter, and all we ask in return is for you guys to take 60 seconds to let us know you’re there. Seriously, even a simple “I loved this because...” Sometimes, even just Kudos might help when you are a first time reader. 

Maybe English is not your first language and you don’t know how to express your thoughts? Well, I have a couple of readers who leave comments in Spanish (I speak Spanish), one of them even takes her time to give very rich, insightful reviews. If Spanish is not your language either, then leave them in yours and trust me...I’ll use google translate if I have to, in order to understand you.

Perhaps you don’t leave comments because you had a bad experience and previous authors wouldn’t even care for them. I acknowledge every reader who stops by and leaves some love. I’ve made a couple of close friends that way, actually. I even listen to suggestions and prompts and have used many of them on my chapters across the board. 

Maybe you don’t have an account, but AO3 lets guests to leave comments and kudos without the need to log in, because they know how those are indispensable for fics to keep coming. 

What I’m trying to say is that your motivation and encouragement are indispensable for us. Without it, we don’t have ground to keep sharing our stories, since it feels like no one is reading, or, to put it more bluntly, that no one cares. Sometimes it might be the case that, especially when stories get updated regularly, people just start getting used to it and take the updates for granted, as if writers were faithful robots that satisfied you in one click. But we are not. Fanfiction is not a job, we have lives and struggles outside of it, so very often, writing here is a way to relax and get to a happy place. But, truth is, writing (and posting regularly), no matter how much you love it, is hard, it’s draining, and passion and motivation are the only fuel in this case. And coming here to an empty audience leaves us with none. 

I keep writing for myself, so the stories aren’t really unfinished. I just don’t have a concrete reason to share them when the audience is perceived as nonexistent. 

Thank you for taking your time to read this and hear me out. I hope we can start a two-way relationship, if you’d like for me to keep sharing with you my stories. 


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